Steel stocks in warehouses in China fell to 10-month low
Inventories of five major steel products in commercial warehouses in 132 Chinese cities, monitored by Mysteel, hit a 10-month low of 15.8 million tonnes as of November 25 as buying sentiment improved with rising steel prices and accelerating construction work. projects.
In the period from November 19 to 25, stocks of rebar, wire rod, hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and sheet steel fell for the seventh consecutive week, down another 711 400 tons or 4.3% over the week.
According to the data, among these five main types of steel products, the largest drop in volumes in warehouses was shown by rebar, which fell 6.9% in a week to 6.5 million tons as of November 25, which is the lowest since January 15.
"Construction companies in East and South China are speeding up work before winter temperatures drop too low to continue construction outdoors," said an East China steel trader. He noted that construction contractors are still slow to make payments due to lack of funds.
Trading volume for construction steel, consisting of rebar, wire rod and sheet, averaged 194,886 tonnes per day from Monday to Wednesday, up 6% over the week, according to a Mysteel survey of 237 domestic steel traders. p>
Sources in the market point out that the buying activity is also supported by the rise in steel prices. “People are proactive in buying when prices rise. However, after traders sold their shares during the previous price decline, they (buyers) will find that they have nowhere to find steel! " - joked an official at a steel mill in Shandong province in eastern China.
As of November 25, stocks of five steel products in a smaller Mysteel study in retail warehouses in 35 Chinese cities also fell to a 10-month low of 10.4 million tonnes, or a further 435,300 tonnes for the seventh straight week, or 4 % per week.